Lost in the Woods

"Clay!" Holly wailed. "This isn't going according to the instructions!"

"Hold on, Holly," he called back.

Willow and Ivy watched as Clay worked with another volunteer, exchanged a few words, then came over to them.

"Could you two do me a big favor and see if anyone else needs help?" Clay jerked his head towards Holly. "I think I better go."

"Sure." Willow nodded and looked at Holly, who sat on the ground, a tent pole in each hand. She would have been the epitome of dejection if not for the fluttering of her eyelashes. They managed not to laugh for a few minutes.

x-x-x-x

A little later, the tents were up, a fire was going, and everyone sat around chatting. Clay was relieved that everyone got along, although Holly seemed to want to get along with him more than anyone else. She'd sat next to him with no invitation and had inched closer to him every minute. By reflex, he inched away and realized he'd scooted so close to Willow that he was about to knock her over. With a sigh, he sat up and asked Holly to move back in the other direction.

Adam, he noted, found more than one excuse to talk to Ivy.

As they talked about the next day, one woman raised her hand in a tentative fashion. "Um, excuse me, but...what do we do about bathrooms? I mean, I know bears shit in the woods, but I'd rather not."

That got a round of laughter.

"No problem. Did you see the porta-johns as we came in?" Clay asked her. She shook her head. "Okay, see the path here?" He aimed his flashlight a little to the right of the circle to show a well-trodden path. "Follow it this way—" He moved the flashlight along the path a few feet. "—and you'll see them after about twenty or thirty yards."

"Hold on, I'll go with you." Ivy stood, dusted off the seat of her jeans and grabbed her flashlight. "Anybody else?" A couple more people got up and the group headed off.

"You know, Clay, this is so romantic." Holly put a dreamy face on, and Clay had to bite his cheek to keep from groaning. He saw Willow turn and try to hide a smile in a yawn. "An open, warm fire, out under the stars...I don't know why I don't do it more often."

Lack of central air and heat, he thought but didn't say. He'd known Ash and Willow's family for years, and never once had she expressed interest in camping.

"You may not think that tomorrow," he told her, "after you've been cleaning and walking all day. A bed indoors might look pretty attractive."

"Only if you were in it with me." Holly gave him that coy look again and he nearly choked.

Did she really say that? He was mortified and saw Willow laughing behind her hand.

"Well, um, that's nice, Holly, but...." He turned to Willow. "Anyway, you've been pretty quiet, Willow. Having a good time so far?"

"What? Oh, yes, thanks." She coughed to clear her throat, gave in to one last giggle, then composed herself. "It's a lovely park. I haven't been here often, but my brother comes quite a bit and has nothing but good things to say. I know I'll fall back into my old habits, but it is so nice to be away from computers and phones and everything else. Just for a while."

"It sure is," spoke up another man. He was in his fifties, balding and had also shaken off his own laughing fit. "I just realized while we were walking that I haven't had a vacation in two years, and the last one was spent almost entirely inside. That is going to change. When I think about how I was a kid, and we spent so much time outside...." He shook his head.

"You do wonder what happens." A young woman, maybe twenty-one, nodded in agreement. "I mean, I used to go bike riding, or take walks with my friends, and now it's all library and classes and studying...I'm going to try studying outside when it's warmer."

The bathroom group returned and took up their places, and more of them chimed in with their reminiscences of and wishes for being outside more and inside less. Clay found himself appreciating his job anew. Sure, he had paperwork, and personnel issues like anyone else, but at least he could get out and breathe whenever he needed, and not just on a sidewalk downtown.

"Well, I guess it's my turn." Willow bit her lip. "Anyone else need a bathroom break?"

Clay watched as she played with the flashlight, nervous fingers drumming on the handle.

"Oh, I guess I do." Holly stood up.

"Okay, let's go." Willow took a deep breath, shined her light on the path, and walked over, Holly behind with her own light.

Clay noticed Ivy staring after the two women with concern. "She okay?" Clay asked. The other campers had fallen into conversation amongst themselves.

"Yeah, she's fine, but...." Ivy shrugged. "She's just nervous about getting lost. I should have gone with her."

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Clay tried to reassure her. "It's not that far, after all."

Ivy nodded and turned to Adam, asking if he had time to talk about becoming a ranger, and he was happy to answer her questions. Clay noticed her eyes kept darting back to the path and couldn't stop his from doing the same. After a few minutes, Holly came back alone. He frowned.

"Where's Willow?" Ivy jumped up and asked before Clay could.

"In one of the porta-potties." Holly rolled her eyes. "What, are you two joined at the hip?"

"Why didn't you wait for her?"

"Oh please." Holly huffed out a breath. "She told me I didn't have to. What are you, her mother?"

Ivy stomped off with her flashlight, muttering to herself.

"For God's sake." Holly dropped down next to Clay again. "What, is Willow a baby or something? She's being ridiculous."

Clay turned and looked at her, studying her expression. He'd thought Holly was just flirting—heavily—with him, but now he saw an expression in her eyes as she stared after Ivy that he didn't like.

"Holly, it's not smart to leave someone alone like that. She could trip over something and get hurt, even with the flashlight. One thing about camping, you need to watch out for each other."

Holly's voice was tight. "They're barely a hundred feet away. What could happen?"

Clay resisted the urge to throttle her when Ivy and Willow came back into the circle. He was relieved, even though he doubted anything would happen. He noticed that Willow looked pale, although it could have been the light from the fire playing on her features.

Ivy led her back and they sat down again. Ivy glared at Holly as Willow wrapped her arms around herself and took deep breaths. Ignoring Holly, Clay got up and moved to sit on Willow's other side.

"You okay? You look a little shaky. See a bear?" He kept his tone light.

Willow gave him a wan smile. "No, no bears. Maybe a moose."

He laughed, glad to see she could joke about it, then turned serious and put a hand on her arm. Ignoring the pleasant shock that went through him at the touch, he said, "Listen, anything like that happens again, don't be afraid to call out. Just stay where you are and give a yell. Sound carries pretty good out here, and someone will find you."

"Okay, thanks." Willow nodded.

I'll find you, he thought and stayed next to her until everyone went to bed.

x-x-x-x

Willow woke the next morning and was disoriented by the blue-gray ceiling. Then Ivy snored and Willow looked over at her friend, wrapped in her sleeping bag, and remembered. The park. Earth Day. Lost in the woods.

No, she hadn't been lost, she corrected herself. She'd been less than a hundred feet away from a dozen people and could have called for help. When she'd stepped out of the portable bathroom, she'd been stunned to find herself alone. She had her flashlight, but even so, the surprise had disoriented her. As usual, Willow sighed, she'd let her fear of being lost overrun her common sense, and had frozen, unable to get her bearings or call out.

Luckily Ivy had come to find her, and had had some choice words to say about Holly while they walked back. Willow had agreed, but was glad Ivy had finished before they got back. Having Ivy and Holly at each other's throats would not have made for a good group dynamic.

"Good morning." Willow reached over and poked Ivy's side. "Happy Earth Day."

"What? What!" Ivy tried to sit up, but was hampered by the bag.

Willow couldn't hold back a laugh as Ivy twisted and turned, looking for all the world as though she was struggling with an alien worm made of nylon.

"Hey, no fair." Ivy narrowed her eyes. "No laughing at me before coffee."

"Not sure we'll get coffee. We're in the park, remember?"

"Oh, there will be coffee, or there will be blood."

Willow pretended concern. "Easy now, Ivy. You're off your meds. Don't worry, it'll all be fine."

Ivy tried to throw a pillow at her, got tangled again, and then they both fell back laughing.

"Okay, I can manage without coffee for one day. Grudgingly." Ivy stretched. "Well, guess we'd better see what the great outdoors looks like in the morning, huh?"

They dressed as quickly as they could, threw on their jackets, and stepped outside. Willow couldn't resist laughing at herself a little. Everything looked so different in the day time, and she wondered why it was that night often made things so ominous. From her spot she could even see the porta-johns through the trees. God, I'm such a wuss.

"Good morning!" Clay called. "We have coffee!"

"You are a god!" Ivy dove into the tent to dig out her cup and all but ran over. "Dibs!"

"You'll have to excuse her." Willow rolled her eyes as she followed. "She's addicted to the stuff."

"So am I." The younger girl, whose name was Fern, took some as well, thanking Clay. "I can't tell you how much of this stuff I drank to get through finals last year. I probably ruined my stomach lining."

Willow waited until the rush was over and held out her cup to get some for herself. "Thanks. This seems like a real treat, you know."

"No problem." Clay raised his cup to hers in a toast and she reciprocated. "Trust me, I need the coffee as much as anyone."

Willow took a sip and closed her eyes as she let the hot liquid roll over her tongue and down her throat. "I probably sound like Ivy, but I do think this may be the best coffee I ever tasted."

"I'm flattered. You should try my lasagna." Clay grinned. "It's my mom's recipe, but I do okay."

"I'd love that." Willow blushed as she realized what she'd said. "I mean, I bet it's great."

Clay was about to take the opening and ask her our when a voice sounded in his ears and made him grind his teeth.

"Clay, is that coffee?" Holly come over and stepped in front of Willow, just missing her foot. "Oh, my goodness, that's wonderful. I'd never make it through the day without it." She stepped back and hit Willow's arm, sloshing the coffee onto the ground. "Oh, I'm sorry, Willow."

No, you're not. "That's okay. I was done anyway." Willow wondered if she could dump the rest on Holly's head, but decided against it.

Clay turned to the group and called for their attention. "When you're ready, let's fix up the site before we go out on cleanup detail. Happy Earth Day, everybody."

x-x-x-x

Willow hummed to herself as she cleaned up a vacant camp site. With the sun shining, the breeze whispering by, and the smell of the grass and trees, she almost forgot about the previous night's anxiety.

It had also helped, she thought, that Clay had talked to her quite a bit. She found herself hoping he'd ask her out, then berating herself for expecting him to do it when she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. But why, she wondered, would he want to go out with a woman who couldn't seem to stand up straight around him?

"How's it going?" Clay came up.

"Oh, fine, thanks." She turned and smiled, ignoring the twist in her stomach. "Just about done here and then I can do whatever you want." She blushed to her roots when she realized what she said. "I mean, whatever the next project is."

Clay took a minute to make sure he didn't actually tell her what he wanted her to do, or more accurately what he wanted to do to herand nodded. "A couple more sites here, then we can break for lunch."

"Sounds great." Willow took a breath. "Um, Clay. I wanted to ask—"

"Oh, Clay, there you are." Holly came traipsing through, her red t-shirt tied tightly at her waist to emphasize her chest. Willow didn't know whether to laugh or scream in frustration. "I was looking all over for you. Could you please come back to my site? I've found something and I'm just not sure what to do about it." She didn't even look at Willow.

Clay gave Willow an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I'd better go see what this is. Just come on over when you're finished here." He started away and turned back, ignoring Holly's impatient glare. "Sorry, you started to ask me something?"

"It's all right." Willow shook her head. "It'll keep for a while."

Clay nodded and resumed following Holly, turning around once to mouth Help me! and forcing Willow to clamp down on a laugh. She was still giggling when Ivy found her, and her friend joined in after Willow told her what had happened.

"Holly's one of a kind, thank God." Ivy drank some bottle water, then held it out for Willow. "Poor Clay. I saw him earlier and he looked like he was getting a root canal."

"Oh, stop." Willow laughed again. "Clay will have to hold his own, and give her credit for going after what she wants."

"Please." Ivy scoffed. "You have to take away her credit for not realizing that the man isn't interested. Which is the way it should be, since he likes you, and you're tons better for him than she is."

"I was about to ask him out," Willow confessed.

"What? That's great!" Ivy beamed. "Way to take charge of the situation!"

"I was about to. Then Holly came in and Clay went to help her. I'm not sure I can do that again."

"Of course you can." Ivy was firm. "Just think of that as a dress rehearsal. A bad dress rehearsal means a good performance. And I'll bet Clay is a great performer."

"Ivy!" Willow blushed and shook her head. "You're—"

"Insatiable," they finished together with a laugh.

"No, I'm really not." Ivy helped her finish up and they started walking to the next site. "I just know when two people are good for each other, and you and Clay are good for each other. So is that guy Adam, for me."

"Adam?"

"Adam Fossey, the other ranger. Clay introduced us and hoo boy." Ivy fanned herself with her hand. "That man is hot stuff. I am not leaving this place without a phone number."

"Go get 'im, tiger."

x-x-x-x

Clay was dying to know what Willow had been about to ask him, and he felt like someone up there was having fun at his expense. No matter what he did, he was unable to break free even for a few minutes to find out her question. The best he could do was steal the occasional glance and give her a smile; the smiles in return made him feel better, but he wanted more.

He had determined that he would ask her out, and was just waiting for the right time. No matter how he planned it, Holly seemed to have a sixth sense and was right there with a question, or request for help, and he couldn't get away. He thought Willow noticed, and her friend Ivy, since they both shot sympathetic looks his way.

A question—this time from Fern—provided a welcome distraction. As he'd been doing for much of the excursion, he told her the names of the nearby plants and trees. After a bit, he guided them along the trail and they collected more litter as they walked along.

"It's such a shame."

Clay looked over, saw Willow talking to Ivy, and broke away before Holly could snag him again.

"What's a shame?"

The two women looked up and Willow answered. "Just how people drop things here without even thinking of it. I mean, just because a paper cup is biodegradable doesn't mean they should leave it any old where. It's not like it's going to degrade in the next day."

"True, which is why we appreciate you all helping out this weekend." Clay couldn't resist reaching out to touch her arm, and she blushed. He saw Ivy fail to hide a knowing grin.

"If you two will excuse me," Ivy said, "I'm going back to the group. I need some water." She waved and walked away.

"Now she is a perceptive woman." Clay turned to Willow.

"Why's that?"

"Because she knew I wanted to be alone with you."

"Ivy can be kind of...loud, but she's great." Willow gave him a shy look.

"So, I've been wondering, what is it you wanted to ask me earlier? When we had coffee?" Clay studied her, taking in her eyes, green like English grass in the spring, and the rest of her, which looked soft and round and...He cleared his throat before his thoughts went any further.

"Oh, I, um...." Willow took a deep breath and let out a nervous laugh. "Well, okay. I was going to ask if you wanted to get together. Later. After the weekend, I mean. But not if you don't want to. I mean, you don't have to...." It was her turn to clear her throat. "Wow, I'm really bad at this."

"You're doing fine. And I'm glad you asked, because I didn't think I'd ever get a chance." He took her hand in his. "I'd like that a lot. I like you a lot."

"You...um, hardly know me." She blushed.

"Well, that would be the point of going out, wouldn't it?"

Willow nodded, lost for words now that she'd managed to ask him.

"I think we'd better...seal the deal." Clay's sea-blue eyes were mischievous.

"Seal the deal?" Willow was puzzled. "How?"

"Like this." He stepped to her, leaned down, and kissed her.

Willow jumped slightly but then sighed. He had one hand on her shoulder, and his free hand still held hers. His fingers tightened on hers and she responded in kind, otherwise afraid to move and break the spell. She didn't know how long they would have stayed there had not a shrill cry cut the air.

"Claaaaaaay!"

He pulled back with a sigh and they shared a rueful smile. Clay kept her hand in his as they started toward the group.

x-x-x-x

Willow saw Ivy's none-too-subtle thumbs-up when she and Clay joined the group again. He'd held her hand until just before they were in view of the others, then had given her a quick squeeze before stepping away. He moved to address the group, and she walked over to Ivy. Willow shushed her when her friend began demanding details.

"I'd like to thank you all for all the work you've been doing," Clay began. "I know you must be beat, and you'll be glad to know we're nearly back at the campsite. I suggest we take a rest, have some water, and then we'll move on."

"So what happened!" Ivy bumped Willow's shoulder with her own, causing the blonde-haired woman to bobble her water bottle as she tried to take a drink. "Come on, come on, spill!"

"I just did." Willow pushed back and wiped at her mouth. "Calm down, Ivy. It's not like I've never been on a date or anything."

"I know, but this is so great! He's cute, you're cute, and it'll annoy the hell out of Holly."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's always one of my considerations when asking a guy out: Will Holly be pissed off?"

"You asked him?" Ivy beamed and gave Willow a high-five. "That's my girl!"

Willow chuckled. "Well, it didn't seem fair to leave it all up to him. It's the twenty-first century, right? Women can do that kind of thing."

"Amen, sister." Ivy grinned again, then took a long drink from her own water bottle. "So, I wonder if I'll have to ask Adam, or if he's the kind of guy that likes to make the first move."

"Should be fun to find out. I'll just stand to the side and watch the fireworks." Willow winked at her friend.

"Oh, there will be fireworks." Ivy wiggled her eyebrows. "You just wait."

They looked up when Fern came over to chat. It turned out that Fern was attending Ivy's alma mater, and the two had fun comparing notes on professors and classes. Willow listened with half an ear, but was still buzzing with excitement inside about her impending date with Clay.